It was bad news good news for LAFC following its first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League final against Leon.
The bad news was that it dropped the first leg on Wednesday night at Estadio Leon, meaning that LAFC will have to repeat what it accomplished back in 2020, ironically against Leon. Three years ago, these two teams faced each other in the round of 16 of this same tournament, LAFC dropped the first leg 2-0 at Leon, but rallied in a big way in the second leg at home, scoring three goals to stun Leon, knocking them out of the tournament.
The good news for LAFC; Denis Bouanga made this year’s tack a little more easier, as his goal right before the end of the match meant that LAFC will only have a one-goal deficit to work with when it hosts the final leg at BMO Stadium on Sunday evening.
“It was fortunate getting that goal in the last minute,” LAFC keeper John McCarthy said of Bouanga’s last minute strike. “Now we have to go home and take care of business.”
Leon grabbed the lead eight minutes into the match, as William Tesillo headed in an Angel Mena corner kick at the far post, as McCarthy was caught flat-footed and could only hope for the ball to either go off the back post or miss it entirely. Leon then caught a break just before halftime, as Mena sent in another corner, and this time, Jaine Barreiro headed a ball for the near post, but missed. However, referee Walter Lopez Castellanos was summoned to the VAR booth, and it showed that during the set piece, the ball went off the hand of LAFC defender Ryan Hollingshead, Castellanos awarded Leon the penalty, and Mena buried the penalty, sending the shot to his left, past the outstretched McCarthy.
Leon wilted away most of the second half, and looked like it would take a three-goal lead into the second leg, as Osvaldo Rodriguez jumped through Shane Palencia to head in a Ivan Moreno cross in stoppage time. However, the goal was called back, as Castellanos determined that Rodriguez fouled Palencia by jumping into him. Havin dodged a bullet, LAFC pounced one last time and succeeded, as Palencia dribbled down the right side, then crossed into the penalty area, a touch from Mateusz Bogusz off his back heel and Bouanga slotted the shot just outside the six-yard box past keeper Rodolfo Cota into the back net to give LAFC a goal that may very well pay dividends for them on Sunday.
